The Canadian census data revealed that the number of empty bedrooms across Ontario has increased in recent years, with the current number exceeding five million.

The map, which uses data from the 2021 census, assumes an ideal scenario where couples share a bedroom and single individuals sleep in separate rooms. It was created as a complement to the overcrowded housing map to help identify underutilized housing throughout the province.

Based on the overcrowded housing map, it is clear that there are families with more than one person per bedroom, not counting couples.

A note below the map added, "This always means that there are more empty bedrooms than we show on the map, as we only assign the average bedroom needs, that is, the need if all people were distributed across all bedrooms in each area,”

Based on 2016 data, it is estimated that about 32.1 percent of bedrooms in occupied homes were empty, which slightly decreased to 31.5 percent in 2021.

The memo confirmed, "At the same time, a large portion of Canadians still enjoy one or more extra bedrooms, while other households are 'crowded,' highlighting the inequality in housing outcomes."

While the updated figure will not be available until 2026 when the next Canadian census occurs, previous numbers reveal concerning indicators regarding housing inequality in the province.